King Street canopy. Some sun-facing solar panels to be mounted on 40-foot high span over a new pedestrian concourse that will replace existing King Street parking.
To lead MinnState campuses in energy efficiency
WINONA, Minn. — Plans for a new classroom building at Winona State University have been overhauled significantly withnew leading-edge environmentally friendly attributes. Charla Miertschen, dean of science and engineering, who is heading the project, said the structure will be the first zero energy and carbon-neutral building in the MinnState colleges system. The updates, also, have delayed occupancy plans two years, to May 2028. The building is called Project CECIL, short for the awkward Center for Interdisciplinary, Collaboration, Engagement and Learning. The main visible departure from the original plan are massive infrastructure revisions atop the structure to make it water-balanced, low waste, and toxin-free, Miertschen said. The revision also includes additional campus green space consistent with the university’s the 2007 climate-conscious policy commitment. Miertschen said that CECIL will help reduce the university’s carbon imprint 25% a year.
Original sketch. With now-deleted steep gables that had complemented the Jacobethan revival architectural theme eof Krueger, Maxwell, Phelps and Stark halls.
Miertschen. Science and engineering dean: “A technology-rich redesign” with state-of-art materials.
Location
CECIL will be on the King Street stub into campus, replacing the Gildemeister and Watkins buildings, which will be razed. Price tag: $4.8 million. New home for these academic departments: Art and design, computer science, and math and statistics.